Monday, December 12, 2005

penalty

i'm having a bad day. this morning i arrived at work and realized that i'd missed a doctor appointment scheduled for earlier in the morning. actually i missed two, as one was for me and the other was for tashi.

i promptly called the doctor's office and they said there was going to be at least $70 charge for missing the appointments. i almost fainted. the woman on the phone said she'd talk to the doc and see if he might waive it.

well, they called me back this afternoon and said that actually they are going to charge me $75 for tashi's missed appointment, and $85 for mine. now, i know doctors' offices usually charge money for missed appointments, but i didn't think they charged that much. also, i made this appointment a month and a half ago. you'd think they would have called me with a reminder. i mentioned that to the bulldog on the phone and she said that they have it marked on their list that they left me a message. i don't * ever * remember receiving a message. but of course that doesn't matter to them.

i feel really crummy.

the thing is, about a dozen people recommended this doctor as being an amazing guy who also practices naturopathy. since i'm not much into the alopathic way, it is important for me to have a doc such as this. but now i feel kind of resentful. i guess i shouldn't feel that way, as i'm the one who screwed up. but i feel like they are way over-charging me. kind of digging the knife in and twisting it. had tashi and i actually showed up for the appointments it would have cost only $30 for the both of us.

1 comment:

$160 for nuthin? That is criminal. I don't mean to fuel the fire, but what do you get per hour when they make you sit in the waiting room 'til they're ready for you? Patients should charge for their time. When the receptionist checks you in, takes your money, and says, "The Doctor will be with you shortly," I think it would be a hoot to reply in all seriousness, "Ok - For my time, I charge the basic rate of $68 per hour, one hour minimum charge."

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About Me

i live at the foot of the beautiful blue ridge mountains with my husband, teenage daughter, five year old son, and two cats. i am a doula and have studied massage and herbalism. my creative passions include writing poetry, collaging, cooking, sewing, and photography. i also love to travel. i was born in cyprus and grew up with a single mother who took to me to far away lands. the blog "vale of evening fog" has been a great way to maintain a writing habit and capture the magic of daily life. "windhallow" is an ongoing poetry manuscript i have been writing since 2001. thanks for peeking into my realm!